L Takanashi

New York

Correspondent at Business of Fashion (BOF)

“Aesthetic Investigator” based in NYC. @bof Correspondent. All views are my own. Bylines in Complex, The Cut, Gothamist, Fader, Pitchfork, Highsnobiety, etc.

Articles

How to Master the Art of “Trash Talk” Marketing

3 weeks ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

The trash talk being thrown around during the NBA Finals isn’t just coming from the players but directly from the marketing departments of the sportswear brands that sponsor them. Minutes after the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Minnesota Timberwolves from the playoffs last week, Converse came out with a video on Instagram depicting an ant seemingly being crushed by the Converse SHAI 001.
Why Hoka Is Slowing and On Keeps Growing

4 weeks ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

In the race to become the next sneaker giant, Hoka’s pace is flagging while On shows no signs of slowing. The two European brands are regularly mentioned in the same breath as the challengers shaking up the running market and putting a scare in behemoths like Nike and Adidas. Hoka was born in the French Alps in 2009, On in the Swiss Alps in 2010.
Boris Bidjan Saberi Is Shutting Down Operations

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

Boris Bidjan Saberi, the brand known for its sophisticated menswear silhouettes informed by subcultural codes and artisanal production, is ceasing operations. The company confirmed in a statement to The Business of Fashion that it will close by the end of July. News of the label’s shuttering was first revealed in a letter sent out to retail partners that was shared by blogs such as StyleZeitgeist on Thursday.
Change Is Coming to the Sneaker Retail Landscape

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

Last week, Dick’s Sporting Goods made a $2.4 billion bet on Foot Locker that will affect every major player in the sneaker industry. With the acquisition, Dick’s is buying a sneaker-retailing leader with nearly $8 billion in annual sales, locations at malls across the US and a strong — if faded — presence in sneaker culture.
The Debrief | How Fashion Brands Build Community in 2025

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi |Sheena Butler Young |Brian Baskin

Listen to and follow ‘The Debrief’: Apple Podcasts|Spotify|OvercastAs inflation bites and politics polarise, the fashion industry in 2025 is facing unprecedented pressure to hold onto its customers. Brands are looking to community as a deeper and more emotional form of engagement. But building true community takes more than buzzwords.
MIKE / Tony Seltzer: Pinball II

1 month ago | pitchfork.com | L Takanashi

When it comes to being the drippiest brand an ascendant rapper could wear, nothing beats Chrome Hearts right now. And out of all the Chrome Hearts pieces MIKE could have purchased for a courtside fit at a recent Knicks game, he chose a pair of understated eyeglasses for $2000. It was a fittingly chill pick-up from a luxury label known for flashy silver jewelry and jeans that vibe more with Playboi Carti.
Resale Welcomes a Wave of ‘Tariff-ied’ New Customers

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

Resale platforms are grappling with the best sort of problem to have: how to manage a surge in new shoppers. While US trade policies roil the fashion industry at large, resale is welcoming a flood of “tariff-ied” new customers. On Monday, resale marketplace ThredUp reported that the number of new buyers on its platform in the first quarter rose 95 percent compared to last year, marking the largest quarterly increase in new customers in the company’s history.
Reebok Names New Head of Basketball

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

Reebok is building up its team as it returns to the basketball court. The sportswear brand announced Tuesday that it named Jide Osifeso its new head of basketball.
Product Drops Are Fashion’s New Can’t-Miss Events

1 month ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

Last Saturday morning, 1,000 frenzied customers rushed to form a line outside a middle school in East Harlem, some tossing aside rented Citi Bikes with the fare meters still running to get a ticket to enter a classroom that had been taken over by UK streetwear label Corteiz.
Case Study | How Brands Build Genuine Communities

2 months ago | businessoffashion.com | L Takanashi

The fashion industry is going to have to learn the real meaning of community in 2025. Even before US president Donald Trump’s tariffs roiled global markets and generated widespread uncertainty, executives saw consumer confidence and appetite to spend as the greatest risks to fashion’s growth, according to The State of Fashion 2025 by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company.